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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hal, Theo:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You might be interested by Paulin Djite's article
"From liturgy to technology: Modernizing the languages of Africa," in LPLP 32
(2008): 133-152.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Humphrey Tonkin</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=dplesslt.HUM@ufs.ac.za href="mailto:dplesslt.HUM@ufs.ac.za">Theodorus
du Plessis</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu
href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu">Language Policy List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A
title=AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com">AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com</A>
; <A title=H-WEST-AFRICA@h-net.msu.edu
href="mailto:H-WEST-AFRICA@h-net.msu.edu">H-Net Discussion List on History and
Study of West Africa</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 24, 2009 1:30
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [lg policy] RE: Behavioural
changes key to fighting abuseinLiberia's schools - UN envoy</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hal</DIV>
<DIV>Interesting term - the Mazruis' use the term 'communal' vs.
'ecumenical'.</DIV>
<DIV>I am not so sure about the second part about not using all languages for
scientific purposes. It partly depends of course on what you mean by
scientific - do you include indigenous knowledge? Nevertheless, I believe more
communal languages can function as ecumenical languages, even as languages of
science. Otherwise we will get large scale folklorization</DIV>
<DIV>Theo<BR><BR>>>> On 2009/08/22 at 12:09 AM, <<A
href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</A>> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<DIV
style="PADDING-LEFT: 7px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 15px; BORDER-LEFT: #050505 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f3f3f3">Theo
and Don:<BR><BR>I think this issue illustrates what I think Fishman
calls<BR>"folklorization" of a language--you have<BR>to be sure there's home
usage of it in order to get intergenerational<BR>transfer (without which
there'll<BR>be no next generation of speakers) but if other usages aren't
made<BR>possible, it becomes a vehicle<BR>for the "folkloric" domain
only. I can't remember where he says this,<BR>and maybe he expands on
it<BR>more. I happen to think that usage of any and all languages of
the<BR>world for scientific purposes is<BR>unrealistic, given the immense
resources a language like English has<BR>at its disposal, but many<BR>people
think badly of me for this view.<BR><BR>Hal Schiffman<BR><BR>On Fri, Aug 21,
2009 at 12:00 PM, Theodorus du<BR>Plessis<dplesslt.HUM@ufs.ac.za>
wrote:<BR>> I agree with your approach. The functional differentiation you
refer to is<BR>> indeed essential (for the reasons you provide). This is
also largely the<BR>> view held by SA scholars who right on the topic
(Heugh, Pluddeman,<BR>> Kamwangamalu, Webb, etc.). However, it is clearly
not the view held<BR>> by politicians, populists, etc. And it is not
altogether clear what the<BR>> view is of the educational advisors
(who happen to be mostly British or<BR>> British-oriented). The
PanSOuthAfricanLanguageBoard did also share the<BR>> position of the
scholars but it is not clear what there latest position is,<BR>> largely
since they have practically disappeared from the public eye and<BR>> their
webpage is forever inactive.<BR>><BR>> Prof. L.T. du Plessis<BR>>
Direkteur/Director<BR>> Eenheid vir Taalbestuur/Unit for Language
Management<BR>> Universiteit van die Vrystaat/University of the Free
State<BR>> Posbus/P.O. Box 339<BR>> BLOEMFONTEIN<BR>> 9300
RSA<BR>> Tel: +27 51-401 2405<BR>> Faks/Fax: +27 51-444
5804<BR>> E-pos/E-mail: dplesslt.hum@ufs.ac.za<BR>> Web: <A
href="http://www.uovs.ac.za/etb">http://www.uovs.ac.za/etb</A><BR>><BR>>>>>
On 2009/08/21 at 05:43 PM, <dzo@bisharat.net> wrote:<BR>><BR>>
Thanks for this feedback. However I wonder if the kind of split approach
you<BR>> mention - involving a kind of hierarchy in which languages have
different<BR>> functions - is optimal in terms of education, as opposed to
one in which<BR>> different languages overlap in function.<BR>><BR>>
Wouldn't sociocultural identity itself be subtlely undermined to the
extent<BR>> one grows up believing that one's maternal/heritage language
"can't be used<BR>> to discuss science" (paraphrasing something a Malian
once expressed to me re<BR>> Bambara)? Is it good for education (borad
sense) to relegate some languages<BR>> to sentimental orientation while
emphasizing more or less exclusively the<BR>> use of a priviledged
language(s) for instrumental uses?<BR>><BR>> I know the picture is more
complicated than that, but it does seem that<BR>> there would be a lot of
benefit from promoting a fuller multilingualism in<BR>> which for example a
first language used in local marketpklaces could also be<BR>> the vehicle
for small business and even basic economics education. Or the<BR>>
languages farmers speak among themselves could be used for extension
on<BR>> crops, soil fertility, storage, marketing, etc. Or the languages
of<BR>> sociocultural identity in changing social behavior.<BR>><BR>>
This is not to say that there should not be one (or a few) countrywide<BR>>
official lingua-franca(s) or a "supra-official" language (as you refer
to),<BR>> but that those languages in those roles need not eclipse the
vital role of<BR>> first languages in learning, creating, and communicating
a full range of<BR>> knowledge.<BR>><BR>> Do discussions of language
policy in South Africa touch on these issues?<BR>> They do not seem to for
most of the rest of Africa, as far as I know<BR>><BR>>
Don<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> From:
lgpolicy-list-bounces@groups.sas.upenn.edu<BR>>
[mailto:lgpolicy-list-bounces@groups.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of
Theodorus<BR>> du Plessis<BR>> Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:44
AM<BR>> To: 'H-Net Discussion List on History and Study of West
Africa'<BR>> Cc: AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com; 'Language Policy
List'<BR>> Subject: [lg policy] RE: Behavioural changes key to fighting
abuse<BR>> inLiberia's schools - UN envoy<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>
RE language-in-education policy in RSA - The Nelson Mandela quote is<BR>>
actually significant as it very aptly reflects the two primary South
African<BR>> approaches to managing multilingualism - own / home / first
language for<BR>> sociocultural identiy (sentimental orientation); English
(predominant /supra<BR>> official language of RSA) for education,
multicultural interaction,<BR>> business, etc. (instrumental
approach).<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> Prof. L.T. du Plessis<BR>>
Direkteur/Director<BR>> Eenheid vir Taalbestuur/Unit for Language
Management<BR>> Universiteit van die Vrystaat/University of the Free
State<BR>> Posbus/P.O. Box 339<BR>> BLOEMFONTEIN<BR>> 9300
RSA<BR>> Tel: +27 51-401 2405<BR>> Faks/Fax: +27 51-444
5804<BR>> E-pos/E-mail: dplesslt.hum@ufs.ac.za<BR>> Web: <A
href="http://www.uovs.ac.za/etb">http://www.uovs.ac.za/etb</A><BR>><BR>>
…<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>
_____________________________________________________________________<BR>>
University of the Free State: This message and its contents are subject to
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href="http://www.ufs.ac.za/disclaimer">http://www.ufs.ac.za/disclaimer</A> for
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_____________________________________________________________________<BR>><BR>>
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<BR>=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<BR><BR>Harold F.
Schiffman<BR><BR>Professor Emeritus of<BR>Dravidian Linguistics and
Culture<BR>Dept. of South Asia Studies<BR>University of
Pennsylvania<BR>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<BR><BR>Phone: (215)
898-7475<BR>Fax: (215) 573-2138<BR><BR>Email:
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Please refer to http://www.ufs.ac.za/disclaimer for full details.
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